You Can't Get There from Here isn't Always True!

Some budding musicians in the Byers Grade School Band 

Kansas isn't always known for College Basketball, Professional Football, or Deer Hunting.  For some Kansans, it has been the sound of Music!  This blog will share some well-known musicians' names you probably know but may not have known they were born in Kansas.

I will start with a name you may not recognize as having a musical connection, but Hattie McDaniel was born in Wichita, Kansas on June 10, 1893, and she grew up to be a singer-songwriter, which is what took her to California.  However, what you probably know her for is her role in Gone with the Wind, where she played the Mammy, for which she became the first Black actor to receive an Oscar.  Hattie McDaniel died October 26, 1952.

Charlie Parker, known as Bird or Yard Bird, was born in Kansas City, Kansas on August 29, 1920.  He was mixed Choctaw and African-American, and some people would say he was the best Jazz Alto Saxophone player that has ever lived.  He died too soon, at the age of 34, but he was recognized with a Grammy in the Hall of Fame Awards.

Stan Kenton was born December 15, 1911 in Wichita, and by the age of 15 he was playing piano at a local hamburger eatery for fifty cents a night and tips.  In the 1930s, with little money, he headed west, gradually gained attention as a jazz pianist, and in 1940 formed his first orchestra. As musical tastes changed, he changed with the times, and when he died on August 25, 1979, he left an indelible mark on big band jazz.

Having taken a look at these examples from the past, let's move forward, for instance to Melissa Etheridge, born May 29, 1961 and raised in Leavenworth, getting a Grammy Nomination with her 1st album in 1989, and two more in 1992, and with her third album bringing her first Grammy home...and she was just getting started and is still going strong.

Or, how about Martina McBride, born July 29, 1966, in Sharon, Kansas, a Country music singer-songwriter, who developed a crossover sound that not only pleased fans but also made her a 14-time Grammy nominee and a Country Music Association award four-time Vocalist of the year award.

And, in another musical direction, Joyce DiDonata was born in Prairie Village and was a K-Stater, is a multi-Grammy award winner whose operatic voice has been heard in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Chicago, Geneva, London, Tokyo, Vienna, Berlin, and many other opera venues.

I must not leave out the boys, including drummer Danny Carey, for the band Tool, as well as contributing his talent to albums of many artists, including a favorite of mine, Carole King.  He was born in Lawrence.

My research found many others who have gone from Kansas to the bright lights around the world, as well as a few younger people just getting started...whose names may someday become familiar.  But I will close with someone who thought enough of his home state to name his band after it.  Kerry Livgren was from Topeka and became a founding member of the band for which he suggested the name Kansas.  As primary songwriter for the American rock band Kansas, he put his home state in the spotlights.  Born September 18, 1949, as a child he loved classical and jazz, which may have had some influence in the development of a reputation for poetic lyrics and complex compositions.  He may be best known for Carry on Wayward Son and Dust in the Wind, definitely two of my favorites.

So, if you know someone who dreams of a career in music, and wonders whether he or she might some day perform under the bright lights, share this blog with them.  Others from Kansas have achieved success!